I Can Fish Up Everything!

If I can’t sell them, I’ll just store them and sell them next year.

Soon, the Spanish mackerel was pan-fried and plated. Gu Nan washed the wok and stir-fried some green vegetables. By then, the rice was perfectly cooked.

He picked up a piece of fish. With one bite, the seared sides were golden-brown and crispy, releasing a fragrant burst of fish oil. The meat in the middle was firm and chewy.

Spanish mackerel wasn’t as tender as many other fish, but it had a fantastic, deliciously savory flavor.

After Gu Nan finished his lunch, washed the dishes, and was about to head into the cabin to rest for a bit, a ship’s horn suddenly blared across the sea.

Gu Nan looked in the direction of the sound and saw a small, luxurious boat speeding toward him. Wang Junhe had arrived.

They weren’t too far from the pier, only about a twenty-minute trip, so it was normal for him to arrive so quickly.

The luxury fishing yacht slowed to a stop as it approached. Gu Nan had already hung three tires over the side of his boat to act as bumpers.

He had bought them specifically for the last typhoon—six in total—to prevent collisions.

Without them, when a typhoon hits, all the fishing boats are tied together, and bumps and scrapes are inevitable. His boat would get all banged up.

Seeing this, Wang Junhe steered his boat right alongside. Guo Xiao was standing on deck and tossed over a mooring line.

Gu Nan caught it and threw a line from his own boat over to him. The two men pulled in unison, bringing the boats snug against each other.

Only after the boats were securely tied together did Wang Junhe cut the engine completely.

Guo Xiao had already hopped onto Gu Nan’s boat. "Ah Nan, where’s that Meter Level Spanish mackerel? Sell it to me! I’ll add an extra five hundred yuan."

Wang Junhe, who was just stepping out of the cabin, happened to hear him and immediately flew into a rage. "Damn it, Xiaoguo! What’s the big idea? You trying to steal my fish?!"

"You two can sort out who gets the fish!" Seeing Wang Junhe clamber over to start a fight with Guo Xiao, Gu Nan left them with that line and quickly made his escape, hopping over the gunwale onto Wang Junhe’s boat.

He’d let them handle the matter of the fish. It was just one fish, which made it hard to split anyway, and he didn’t want to get involved in the chaos.

He went into the cabin, opened one of the cabinets, and saw several cartons of Hua Zi cigarettes inside. Without a second thought, Gu Nan took two.

’The two packs of Hua Zi I had before weren’t quite enough, and I gave the last half-pack to that old man. I’ll take a bit more this time.’

When he came back out, the other two seemed to have settled the fish’s fate. They were now craning their necks, peering into the live well.

Seeing the two cartons of Hua Zi in Gu Nan’s hands, Wang Junhe’s eye twitched. ’This little brother of mine really doesn’t stand on ceremony, does he?’

Guo Xiao, on the other hand, was all excitement. "Ah Nan, you’re incredible! I’ve never seen an Ugly Country fish this big before. The mackerel’s going to Junhe, so this one has to be mine, right?"

Gu Nan shook his head. "Nope. I’m going to display this one at my shop’s entrance to attract customers. Brother Guo, you should just take two of the Spanish mackerels."

"The Meter Level one is gone, but I specially picked out two that are seventy or eighty centimeters long. Take these mackerels back for your wives and kids to have a taste of something fresh."

After the incident with the yellowtail amberjack last time, Gu Nan didn’t plan on charging them for the Spanish mackerel today.

But just giving them the fish could feel like he was simply repaying a favor and wanted to cut ties. That’s why he’d gone and unceremoniously swiped two cartons of Hua Zi from Wang Junhe.

If you want to have a good relationship, you should frequently freeload meals off your big bro. If you can’t freeload a meal, you should frequently swipe his Hua Zi.

It’s like when a senior colleague at work does you a huge favor, and you offer to treat them to a meal in return.

The subtext is, "You helped me, I’ve paid you back, so now we’re even."

But if you instead get your big bro to take you to a private KTV room to hang out with girls, or to a massage parlor where you claim the prettiest masseuse for yourself—that’s true friendship.

Hearing Gu Nan say this, the smiles on Wang Junhe’s and Guo Xiao’s faces softened.

"Alright, then we won’t stand on ceremony with you either."

Gu Nan laughed and waved the cartons of Hua Zi in his hand. "As long as you keep your Hua Zi in stock, everything else is negotiable."

"You little rascal." Wang Junhe chuckled. "Want to fish with us for a bit?"

"You two have the time?"

"We have to head back soon, but since we’re already here, we might as well cast a few lines, right?" Guo Xiao glanced at the Ugly Country fish again and closed the live well lid with a hint of regret. He still really wanted that fish.

"You guys go ahead and have fun. I’m going to pack up my things. I need to head back to the seafood shop first to drop off the fish for sale."

’What kind of fish is going to bite in the middle of the day, anyway?’ Gu Nan didn’t want to waste his time.

When they heard he wasn’t going to fish, Guo Xiao and Wang Junhe immediately lost their desire to do so as well.

The two of them carried the fish back to the other boat. The mooring lines were untied, and Gu Nan used the handle of his gaff to push their boat away.

Once Wang Junhe’s boat was clear, he started the engine and headed back to the pier.

Gu Nan went into his cabin and followed behind them.

However, they went their separate ways when they reached the waterfront, as their berths were at different piers.

When he’d come out at dawn, his foam boxes had been stacked and secured with packing straps. He did the same for the trip back.

The large foam box was filled with over a hundred pounds of fish. In theory, Gu Nan could carry it, but in reality, the box was a bit too big for one person to handle easily.

There was another angler nearby—it was hard to tell if he had just returned or was preparing to head out. Gu Nan skillfully pulled out his Hua Zi and offered him one. "Brother, could you give me a hand? My box is a little big, I can’t move it by myself."

"Whoa, looks like you caught a ton of fish!" The angler’s eyes lit up when he saw that the cigarette was a Golden Stick Zhonghua. He immediately accepted it, and Gu Nan simultaneously pulled out a lighter to light it for him.

Gu Nan lit one for himself as well and said, "You didn’t hear, brother? A school of Spanish mackerel came through around dawn. That’s when I caught these. After the school scattered, I checked out a few other spots, but I didn’t have much luck, so I came back."

"Oh, so it was that school of Spanish mackerel!" The angler had a moment of realization. He had been out there then too and had caught a lot. The fish he caught himself had sold for over ten thousand yuan.

Including what he bought from other anglers on the boat, he had made a good twenty thousand-plus yuan from that one trip—a small fortune!

He then went aboard Gu Nan’s boat to help move the boxes onto a three-wheeled vehicle. There were two large boxes and six small ones in total. He wasn’t too surprised by the amount of fish.

He subconsciously assumed that Gu Nan was like him and that at least two-thirds of the fish had been bought from other people.

But when Gu Nan used a small crane to hoist the Ugly Country fish out of the live well, an expression of pure envy finally appeared on his face.

"That’s incredible, brother! I’ve never even seen an Ugly Country fish that big."